Author Description

The Advanced Metallization Conference - held in Albany, New York, and Tokyo, Japan - marked its 24th anniversary in 2007. These two sister conferences form a unique "one conference at two sites" that focuses on latest R&D and manufacturing results, as well as real-world integration and reliability data on the application of metallization and related technologies for advanced IC devices. Scientists and engineers from around the world came to listen and present state-of-the-art work in the field of ULSI interconnect technology including metallization, dielectrics, integration, packaging, design and vertical integration. Great progress has been made in ULSI metallization, but new challenges in performance, reliability and integration are expected as dimension continues to shrink. The importance of continued basic research in nanoscience and technology, using either metal wires or new materials such as carbon nanotubes, was declared key to the future of ULSI interconnects.